During a conversation with North the other day, we were discussing Clean Eating, nutrition, and blog topics. He mentioned something along the lines of ( sorry, North - I didn't write down your exact words! ) "When I think of putting a meal together for my family, I think of the meat first, and then add the side dishes ( vegetables, starches, etc ) around it. I should really be doing the opposite. Picking the vegetables for the meals, and then adding the protein and other things around it. "
I had to stop and think about this concept for a while, but he's exactly right. We learn - from out Mother's side, through Home Ec classes in school, then at the feet of the Food Network - it is Protein, Starch, Vegetable - in that order.
One phrase he said has echoed for days. "I need to be an Imperfect Vegetarian."
What a great phrase; an interesting point of view. You don't need to be perfect, card carrying vegetarian. You simply need to shift your thinking from making meat the center of your plate to making the meat a corner of you plate. Meat IS natural, Meat IS Clean Eating. Meat shouldn't be the focus, however.
Perhaps the point is to become more Veggie-Centric. Thinking of vegetables as the main portion of your meal, rather than something "on the side."
What do you think?
